[Forgotten Hero] ⑤ North Korea sprayed machine gun fire after asking "Who will return?"

Survivors "Why didn't you come sooner? It's miserable"
Abandoned by Cho Kuk, branded as 'prisoners' and forced into mines
Children also stigmatized as 'puppet army prisoners'... pain inherited
Park Sun-young "Yoon, meet survivors if you want to emphasize veterans affairs"

Editor's NoteJuly 27, 1953. The armistice agreement was signed, and the gunfire on the Korean Peninsula ceased. However, tens of thousands of South Korean POWs were forced into North Korean coal mines without returning to their families, and the young soldiers who fought on the battlefield became "forgotten heroes" neglected by their homeland. Seventy years later, the surviving detainees in North Korea are estimated to be over 90 years old. This is why the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's term is regarded as the "last chance." On the 70th anniversary of the armistice agreement, we examine the system that has ignored the sacrifices of South Korean POWs and seek improvement measures.

"Every time I was asked why I didn't return (to the South) during the prisoner exchange, it was truly painful and miserable." Mr. Yoo Young-bok (93), a surviving South Korean POW, said that even the light question of "Why didn't you come back earlier?" left a deep scar on him, who risked his life to defect from North Korea.

Returned POW and war veteran Elder Yoo Young-bok (left) and Elder Kim Sung-tae. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

During the Korean War armistice talks in 1953, the United Nations Command estimated about 82,000 missing South Korean soldiers, but the number of South Korean POWs finally handed over by the North was only 8,343. North Korea boasted that it had captured 100,000 prisoners during the war, but when it came time for repatriation, they drastically reduced the number. After the prisoner exchange, North Korea has denied the existence of any remaining POWs, claiming "there are no prisoners left."

North Korea's stance that "there are no prisoners" is not entirely inaccurate. North Korea reportedly prohibited the use of the word "prisoner," instead calling South Korean POWs "liberation fighters." In this way, tens of thousands of South Korean POWs were forced into coal mines instead of prisoner camps. It was a cruel trick. Most prisoners reportedly did not even hear the news that the armistice agreement had been signed. In particular, in some areas, there was a notice saying "The war has stopped, so those who want to return may come out," but it is said that a massacre occurred where prisoners who wished to return were gathered and machine-gunned.

Veteran Korean War POW and war veteran Yoo Young-bok. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

Mr. Yoo Young-bok said, "Even if they couldn't bring us back, if the government doesn't tell the story of the South Korean soldiers who died miserably, who will?" He expressed his frustration, saying, "I want to know now why President Kim Dae-jung went all the way to Pyongyang but returned without saying a single word asking for our people to be returned."

In fact, from the late 1990s, dialogue began between the South and the North, and news of this spread among South Korean POWs. Hearing that President Kim Dae-jung was coming to Pyongyang, they hoped, "Now we can finally return." Despite living like slaves, they pooled their scarce money to tailor a set of clothes each. They wanted to stand before their families in neat attire when returning home with the president.

However, this modest hope did not last long. During his visit to the North, former President Kim Dae-jung returned without a word about South Korean POWs and instead handed over dozens of "unconverted long-term prisoners" composed of South Korean Workers' Party members, partisans, and People's Army POWs to North Korea. Our South Korean POWs had to watch the People's Army hold a grand welcoming ceremony. Mr. Yoo said, "Shouldn't we have at least received back as many as we returned? It still feels suffocating."

It was around this time that South Korean POWs began crossing the Tumen River. This explains the sharp increase in returnees in the early 2000s. It was a desperate mindset of "If I stay and die, I might as well try to defect and die." It is reported that many of them were caught and sent back to the North, and the return flow stopped after 2010, presumably because most were over eighty and no longer able to attempt defection on their own.

"Life was miserable, but... if my country calls, I will run"

Elder Kim Sung-tae, a repatriated Korean War POW and veteran. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

The daily life of South Korean POWs detained in North Korea was dark and pitch black. They were trapped in dark coal mines and worked like slaves until they collapsed. Although they could marry and start families in North Korea, their descendants could not shake off the stigma of being "children of puppet army POWs." Simply for being sons and daughters of South Korean POWs, they were dragged to coal mines, and this miserable stigma has been passed down to this day.

Mr. Kim Sung-tae (90), who defected in June 2001, said, "In July 1954, I was caught while trying to cross south with seven colleagues and spent 13 years in prison," adding, "We ate corn porridge with beans, and on days when even that was not available, we were so hungry it was unbearable." He continued, "I endured for decades with the hope of meeting my parents and hometown friends again, even in my dreams," and lamented, "I still feel wronged after living years being treated like human garbage by those scoundrels."

Mr. Kim said, "We were oppressed without being treated like humans, and because of the label of being prisoners, even my son had to live such a life," adding, "I want to expose to the world until the day I die how North Korea violated human rights and committed these atrocities." He also said, "I am ready to run if my country calls me now" and "I earnestly hope President Yoon Seok-yeol listens to the pain of South Korean POWs."

Park Sun-young: "I hope the military respects the sacrifice and dedication of South Korean POWs"

Park Sun-young, Chairperson of the nonprofit organization Mulmangcho, is talking while showing her recent book and a photo (right) taken during a trip to Jeju Island in 2019 for the 90th birthday celebration of Korean War prisoners of war. Photo by Heo Young-han younghan@

Park Sun-young, director of the nonprofit organization Mulmangcho, who has raised issues about South Korean POWs since her time as a member of the 18th National Assembly, urged a progressive change in attitude from the Yoon Seok-yeol administration. She pointed out that the emphasis on "patriotic service" would be meaningful only if perceptions of South Korean POWs are corrected first.

Director Park said, "Since I was in the National Assembly, I repeatedly proposed 'creating a medal for South Korean POWs,'" adding, "Each time, the Ministry of National Defense responded as if saying, 'Do you know what they might have done in North Korea?' It was infuriating." She continued, "In the U.S., even if prisoners reveal all secrets, they are treated as heroes as long as they come back alive," and asked, "If they don't even cooperate to survive, is there anything else but to say 'just die'?"

She said, "There were many cases where soldiers were ordered to hide in trenches during their first and second private days and were abandoned while waiting," and criticized, "The idea that it's better to die than be captured by the enemy is a wrong notion found nowhere in the world except Japanese militarism." She also pointed out, "When Mr. Lee Won-sam, a founding member of the South Korean military and a South Korean POW, passed away, not a single government official came to pay respects," saying, "This is the reality of the Republic of Korea."

Director Park suggested that if President Yoon personally visits surviving South Korean POWs, it would send a 'meaningful message.' If the president takes the lead in showing respect, it could raise awareness among related ministries, including the Ministry of National Defense. She added, "I saw at a French military event that newly commissioned officers escorted veterans in wheelchairs during the entrance ceremony," and earnestly hoped, "I sincerely hope to see such scenes in our military as well."